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What is Cure HHT?
Cure HHT is a nonprofit patient-advocacy and research organization that serves as a central hub for the hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) community. According to its site, it brings together patients, families, clinicians, researchers, and partners around the goal of finding HHT sooner, treating it better, and ultimately curing it. It describes itself as having served the HHT community for more than 35 years, since 1991.
HHT, also called Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome, is a genetic disorder that causes malformed blood vessels in multiple organs. Cure HHT emphasizes that it is a whole-body disease that often starts with childhood nosebleeds but can have serious complications without obvious symptoms. The site cites figures such as 1 in 4,000 people affected, more than 2 million living with HHT worldwide, and 80% undiagnosed, along with 55+ HHT Centers of Excellence worldwide.
What the site offers
- For newly diagnosed patients: guidance on what to screen for, how to build a care plan, and what family members may need to know.
- For people seeking care: help finding an HHT Center of Excellence or an HHT-experienced physician.
- For healthcare professionals: guideline-based screening and management information, clinical tools, and referral pathways.
- For the wider community: research updates, patient stories, and webinar invitations through its email list.
How it fits into a care journey
Cure HHT functions less as a direct provider of medical care and more as a navigator and convener. A useful next step for someone newly diagnosed is to start with the organization's "newly diagnosed" path, then use its center-finding tool to identify a specialist team, since HHT spans multiple specialties such as ENT, pulmonology, neurology, and genetics. For clinicians, the provider resources are the relevant entry point. Related organizations include the National Organization for Rare Disorders and National Institutes of Health, which offer broader rare-disease and research context.
How do I find an HHT Center of Excellence near me?
Cure HHT maintains a directory of HHT Centers of Excellence, and its "Find HHT care" path is designed for exactly this search: locating a Center or an HHT-experienced physician near you. The organization reports 55+ Centers of Excellence worldwide, so the practical first step is to check the directory on Cure HHT and filter by your region.
What to expect from a Center of Excellence
A Center of Excellence is not a single specialist but a team—typically pulmonology, neurology, ENT, interventional radiology and genetics—coordinated around one patient. That matters because HHT is a whole-body disease: nosebleeds may be the visible symptom, while lung, liver and brain vessel malformations can be silent. A coordinated center screens for all of these in one place rather than sending you between unrelated clinics.
If no Center is nearby
- Ask the Cure HHT directory for an HHT-experienced physician, which the site lists as a separate option from a full Center.
- Contact a Center of Excellence anyway for guidance; many advise patients and local doctors remotely between in-person visits.
- Bring the organization's guideline-based screening and management information to your local clinician, since the site publishes provider resources for exactly this purpose.
A quick decision guide
| Your situation | Best starting point |
|---|---|
| Newly diagnosed, no care plan yet | "I'm newly diagnosed" path, then find a Center |
| Established diagnosis, routine follow-up | Nearest Center of Excellence or experienced physician |
| Local doctor unfamiliar with HHT | Provider resources plus a Center consult |
| Possible HHT, not yet confirmed | Center evaluation, since 80% of people with HHT are undiagnosed |
A useful next step: before calling, note your symptoms, family history and any prior imaging, then ask the center which screenings they recommend first.
What should I do right after being diagnosed with HHT?
Start with the three things that change outcomes earliest: confirm the diagnosis with someone who knows HHT, get screened for lung and brain vascular malformations, and tell your first-degree relatives. HHT (hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia) is a whole-body genetic disorder, and some of its most serious complications can be silent, so the period right after diagnosis is about finding what needs monitoring rather than waiting for symptoms. Cure HHT
Your first weeks, in order
- Get to an HHT-experienced clinician. HHT spans ENT, pulmonology, neurology, gastroenterology, and genetics. A single specialist usually cannot cover it; a Center of Excellence exists precisely to coordinate those specialties around one patient. Cure HHT maintains a directory of Centers and experienced physicians. Cure HHT
- Complete baseline screening, even if you feel fine. Screening typically covers the lungs (for pulmonary arteriovenous malformations, which carry stroke and bleeding risk) and the brain, plus a liver evaluation and a check for GI bleeding. Ask which tests your clinician recommends and when they should be repeated.
- Get genetic testing and cascade screening for family. HHT is inherited dominantly, so a parent, sibling, or child has a 50% chance of carrying it. Because roughly 80% of people with HHT are undiagnosed, your diagnosis may be the first time your family learns to look. Cure HHT
- Build a care plan for nosebleeds and anemia. Nosebleeds are the most common early sign and can range from occasional to disabling. Ask about iron levels and ferritin, since chronic bleeding often causes iron-deficiency anemia that is treatable but easy to miss.
- Write down your questions before each appointment. A simple running list—new symptoms, bleeding frequency, iron results, screening due dates—makes short specialist visits far more productive.
What to expect, practically
HHT affects roughly 1 in 4,000 people, and more than two million worldwide live with it. Screening intervals and treatment choices depend on what is found, so a clear baseline record matters more than a one-time answer.
| Situation | First move |
|---|---|
| Newly diagnosed, no specialist yet | Find an HHT Center or experienced physician |
| Nosebleeds are frequent or worsening | Ask about ENT options and check iron/ferritin |
| Family members unaware | Arrange genetic counseling and testing for relatives |
| Screening results normal | Confirm the follow-up interval in writing |
A useful next step
Join the patient community for research updates and webinars, and keep a folder with your genetic result, imaging reports, and screening dates. When you see a new doctor, hand over that folder—it saves time and prevents duplicated or missed testing. Cure HHT's "Start Here" path for newly diagnosed patients is designed to walk you through exactly this sequence. Cure HHT
Which specialists should I see for HHT screening and management?
HHT screening and management is usually a team effort rather than a single-specialist job, because the condition affects blood vessels in the nose, lungs, liver, brain, and digestive tract. The practical starting point is a clinician who knows HHT well and can coordinate the rest of the team.
The core team
- HHT-experienced physician or center: Your main coordinator. Cure HHT notes that HHT Centers of Excellence bring specialists together around the same patient, and lists more than 55 centers worldwide. If you are newly diagnosed, this is often the fastest way to get a coherent screening plan instead of scattered referrals.
- Ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist: For nosebleeds, which are often the first sign and a major quality-of-life issue.
- Pulmonologist: For lung screening, since lung AVMs (abnormal vessel tangles) can exist without obvious symptoms.
- Neurologist or neurosurgeon: For brain screening and management of cerebral AVMs.
- Hepatologist or gastroenterologist: For liver involvement and digestive-tract bleeding.
- Medical geneticist or genetic counselor: To confirm the diagnosis and guide testing for relatives.
- Hematologist: Helpful when bleeding causes anemia or when iron and blood products are needed.
How to decide where to start
If you are newly diagnosed, start with an HHT center or an HHT-experienced physician and let them assemble the rest. If you already have symptoms, you can start with the specialist who matches the problem — an ENT for nosebleeds, a neurologist for neurological symptoms — but tell them you have HHT so they screen beyond the immediate complaint.
A useful next step is to look at Cure HHT's care-finding path, which is organized around whether you are newly diagnosed, need HHT care, or are a healthcare professional: Cure HHT. For a second reference on the condition and its specialist care, the US National Institutes of Health's genetic and rare diseases resource is a reliable general source: NIH GARD.
How is HHT inherited and should my family members be tested?
HHT (hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia) is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern. That means a person with HHT has a 50% chance of passing the condition to each child, and it affects men and women equally. It can also appear in someone with no known family history, so a negative family tree does not rule it out. Because HHT runs in families, first-degree relatives—parents, siblings, and children—are the people most often advised to be evaluated.
Cure HHT frames HHT as a whole-body disease rather than just nosebleeds, and notes that many serious complications can exist without obvious symptoms. That is the main argument for testing relatives before symptoms appear: screening can find lung, liver, or brain vascular malformations while they are easier to monitor or treat. You can start at Cure HHT.
What testing usually involves
Testing is not one single blood test for everyone. In practice it often combines:
- Clinical evaluation against the Curacao criteria (nosebleeds, telangiectasias, family history, organ involvement).
- Genetic testing to identify the specific gene variant in the family, when a variant is known.
- Screening imaging for lungs, liver, and brain, repeated on a schedule set by an HHT specialist.
If a family-specific gene variant is known, genetic testing can clarify who is affected and who is not. If no variant is found, relatives may still need clinical screening based on symptoms and family history.
A practical decision path
- Confirm your own diagnosis and, if possible, the gene variant involved.
- Ask your HHT clinician which relatives should be evaluated and at what age.
- For children, discuss timing with a specialist—some screening is deferred until a certain age.
- Use an HHT Center of Excellence when possible; Cure HHT lists more than 55 worldwide.
A useful next step is to write down your diagnosis details and gene variant, then share them with relatives so they can take that information to their own doctor. For clinician-facing guidance, the Cure HHT provider resources are the place to start.
What new HHT treatments are in development or clinical trials?
Cure HHT reports that there are 15 treatments in the HHT pipeline today, compared with 3 between 2018 and 2022 — a striking acceleration, though the page does not name the specific drugs, mechanisms, or trial phases. Based on the Cure HHT page, the most concrete next step is to look at the organization's research and clinical trial resources rather than trying to infer candidates from the homepage.
What the website tells you
- Pipeline size: 15 treatments in development today, up from 3 in the 2018–2022 period.
- Infrastructure: 55+ HHT Centers of Excellence worldwide, where trials and expert care tend to concentrate.
- Stated direction: A future where HHT is "found sooner, treated better, and ultimately cured."
- Community channel: A newsletter promising research breakthroughs, patient stories, and webinar invites.
What it does not tell you
The page gives no drug names, no trial phases, no eligibility criteria, and no enrollment locations. Anyone deciding whether a trial is relevant needs those specifics, which typically come from trial registries and the centers running the studies.
How to use this practically
If you are newly diagnosed, the "Start Here" path points to screening and care planning before research. If you are seeking care, a Center of Excellence is the most likely place to hear about trials first. If you are a clinician, the provider resources path covers guideline-based screening and referral pathways — useful for identifying who might qualify for a study.
A reasonable next step: ask your HHT care team whether any pipeline treatments are recruiting, and check ClinicalTrials.gov (ClinicalTrials.gov) for HHT studies by location and phase. For background on the condition and how it affects multiple organs, see the Cure HHT "Learn about HHT" material and the National Institutes of Health for genetic and vascular context.
Decision criterion
Treat "15 treatments in the pipeline" as a signal of momentum, not a menu. What matters for an individual is trial phase, eligibility, location, and whether a Center of Excellence near them is participating — none of which the homepage answers.
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